♂?，，

  After three mornings of returning to the door, Ming Xuan and Pei Jingchen's feelings suddenly accelerated, every day they were stuck together like glue, either painting and playing chess in the study or strolling hand in hand in the back garden of the Pei Mansion, not willing to part for a moment. As the summer heat gradually intensified, it couldn't stop this newlywed couple's entwined love.

  Everyone who has seen him says that since Grandpa married Grandma and brought her home, not only is his spirit improved, but his body also seems to be getting healthier day by day.

  At first, Yang's wife couldn't bear to look at her and even sent a servant girl to Jingyi Yard with a book of female precepts for Minghuan, hinting that she shouldn't seduce her own husband with her charm and should be virtuous and abide by the rules and etiquette.

  Ming Xuan smiled and accepted it with a smile, placing it in the main hall with respect. However, she remained her usual self, speaking warmly and smiling, hand in hand, although she was dignified and elegant in front of people, but never avoiding the servants in the courtyard.

  Newlywed honeymoon, affectionate and entwined, yet never in front of outsiders without knowing etiquette, Yang had no reason to erupt, and after all, she was not a proper mother-in-law. As for the affairs of the first wife's eldest son's house, she couldn't manage too much, so she could only grit her teeth and make a few sideways remarks to Mingxuan before stopping.

  Actually, Yang's heart was full of grievances and anger. When she was at her parents' home, it didn't need to be said that she was a girl who had grown up with a mouthful of complaints. After marrying into the Pei family, throughout the entire household, except for her father-in-law whom she had to respect, who else did she ever put in her eyes? Her sisters-in-law had some subtle criticisms of her, and she knew it, but with the support of the Empress Dowager and her natal family, no one dared to openly make her lose face.

  But since Ming Xuan got married, she had been bullied several times and couldn't even get angry.

  The first thing is to set morning and evening hours for self-reflection.

  Even if she is a stepmother, she is also the legitimate wife of Pei Xiaoan, who has paid respects to her ancestors. In reason, when the new daughter-in-law enters the house, she should be treated as a mother and served accordingly. It's only natural that she would be waited on morning and night. This is the duty of being a daughter-in-law; serving food and pouring tea are also things that should be done. Not to mention distant examples, just look at the hundreds of years since the Zhou Dynasty was established - which household's daughter-in-law hasn't come in like this? This is what it means to be filial.

  But on that day, when the family banquet was held, she was forced to admit her "benevolence" by driving ducks onto the stage, which was equivalent to tacitly allowing Ming Xuan and Min Shi to do the same. If nothing happened, there was no need for them to come to her every day to set rules. Although she did not say it out loud herself, everyone in the family was talking about it. She didn't even have a chance to regret it.

  Yang originally thought that she had indeed said so, and out of filial piety, Ming Xuan should also take the initiative to pay her respects every day. She had heard a lot about how filial Ming Xuan was to his grandmother when he was in Yongning Houfu, but who would have thought that this couple in Jingyi Temple really treated chicken feathers as imperial edicts, and except for the family banquet arranged by Pei Shang, they never showed up in front of her again.

  Just wanting to make things difficult for this new daughter-in-law, she had to send someone to pass it on herself.

  This was also tolerable. What made Yang's anger unbearable was that her reputation for being strict with her daughter-in-law had somehow spread throughout Shengjing, and at the wedding banquet of Jian'an Bo Liang Ji a few days ago, those noblewomen pointed fingers behind her back, if not for her prominent status, they would have been pointing at her nose and gossiping.

  Yesterday, Empress Dowager specially announced her entry into the palace, it turned out that Her Majesty had also heard about this matter.

  The empress, as the mother of the nation, is the model for all women in the world. However, there are unfavorable rumors about her own mother, which makes it difficult for her to do things. Therefore, the empress repeatedly exhorts Yang's family, hoping that they will not intentionally make things difficult for the new daughter-in-law, otherwise the rumors will become more and more intense, which is not good for anyone.

  Yang's family was extremely humiliated, she admitted that on the day of the wedding, the gate of the Zhen Guo Gong Fu was deserted and cold, it was her intention to make people feel this way, she had sent two beautiful maids, Hua Ying and Yue Die, to the Jing Yi Yuan, also sincerely wanting to give the new bride a warning, but that's all. Apart from these two things, she didn't get any benefits at all, and instead suffered humiliation.

  But the queen having thus spoken, she herself did not dare say anything more, and could only endure the thorn in her eye, hoping that Pei Jingxuan would die soon. Even though she saw him happy and refreshed recently, she secretly cursed Ming Xuan for being infertile.

  July's heat was scorching, even the prosperous capital in the north was unbearably hot. Yang was particularly afraid of the heat, and although there were precious ice blocks placed in the Ping Sha Hall, it was still swelteringly hot and stifling.

  The beautiful woman fanned herself, sitting on a pear-wood armchair, looking down at the kneeling maid, her face already dark as coal, "What did you say? The mistress wants to sell my hair?"

  The old woman, surnamed Huang, worked in the small kitchen of Jingyi Temple, mainly responsible for decocting medicine. Sometimes she also prepared some tea and snacks. She was a mole planted by Yang Shi next to Pei Jingxuan, and had been there for nearly twenty years. With her double monthly allowance, she followed Yang Shi's instructions to tamper with the medicine from time to time. Since Master had always been weak, no one suspected anything.

  But this time, just because she put less winter wheat when brewing tea, she was taken advantage of by the big nanny, and some precious medicines were found in her room, which proved her crime of theft. If she hadn't been absent at that moment, she would have been led out to be sold as a slave by the matchmaker, and there wouldn't have been any chance for her to come here to beg for mercy from the young master's wife.

  Yang's anger was so great that she gritted her teeth, picked up a porcelain cup from the table and threw it at the old woman, "You shameless thing! I allowed you to stay by Master's side, but not to take advantage of this small convenience? It must be that Mistress had already suspected something and just took this opportunity to drive you away."

  She became more and more angry, "This good-for-nothing, at this time, especially ran to my place, isn't it to report to the great lady, saying that this greedy thief's habit is what I indulged in?"

  Huang Pozi's heart skipped a beat, originally she wanted to ask the young master's wife for protection, but as soon as she spoke, she felt herself in an unfavorable situation. The young master's wife looked elegant and noble, but inside was a venomous and ruthless woman, no one knew better than her. She thought it was not good, but at this time, there was no way to escape.

  She kowtowed on the ground, begging for mercy, "It was this slave's fault, no one saw me when I came in, please let me go out through the back door, I will leave far away and never set foot in Shengjing again. Please spare my life this time, considering my loyalty over the years!"

  Yang looked at Huang Po disapprovingly and asked, "Besides, has Madam ever punished anyone else?"

  The old woman saw that her tone had relaxed a bit, and hastily said, "That's not the case. It's just that I've noticed in recent days that the big madam and Du Niangzi from the gatehouse have been getting close, calling her into the inner room to chat several times, and even rewarding her with a pair of new-style earrings. Although Du Niangzi hasn't been here for long, she seems to know quite a few things, it's hard to say what kind of information she might have leaked."

  She tried her best to shift the blame onto Du Niangzi, her tone becoming more intense. "Madam Shizi, you think about it, if Eldest Madam didn't have any ulterior motives, I was just careless and forgot to add a flavor of winter wheat, why would she want to go search my room? It must be Du Niangzi who stirred up this trouble!"

  Yang's eyebrows furrowed deeply, "Really?"

  The old woman nodded desperately, "Don't believe me? Go ask others, they all saw it."

  Yang's eyes flashed with a fierce look, and she waved her hand, saying, "Du Niangzi is just guarding the gate in the front hall, usually just helping me remember who went to Jingyi Temple in this mansion. This is my concern for Dage as a mother. Even if Dage knew about it, what's the big deal? On the contrary..."

  She turned her face away and said with a hint of a smile, "If people knew about the things I've been ordering done over the years, that's what would really be cause for concern!"

  The old woman kowtowed like she was pounding garlic, her forehead cracked and bleeding, "I, a humble servant, have received the kindness of the young master's wife, I am not that kind of disloyal person. Once I leave this place, I will definitely keep my mouth shut and not mention a single word, please be at ease."

  Yang's laughter echoed, "I've been married for twenty years, and I'm naturally at ease. Hurry up, before things get out of hand, let's slip out the back door and wait in that small alley by the corner. I'll have Gui to prepare some silver, so we can live a decent life outside."

  She slightly raised her hand and the servant girl escorted Yellow Baozi out.

  The old woman took a step forward, "What do you mean?"

  "People who don't speak are the most reassuring."

  In the Jingyi Courtyard, Ming Xuan listened to Dan Hong's report and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Huang Pozi has been serving in the Jingyi Courtyard for nearly twenty years and knows Yang Shi's secrets best. Yang Shi will not let her go, so go ahead and ask Chang Geng to bring a few sturdy servants to ambush at the corner gates of the mansion and see which gate Huang Pozi leaves from."

  She paused for a moment, "If someone wants to harm her, save her and send her to He Gui."

  Dan Hong took leave and went on an errand.

  Pei Jingchen smiled and asked on one side, "In all these years, Huang Pozi has made many moves in my medicine, apart from this, there is nothing else. Since you already know, why do you still want to play this game of wanting to capture but intentionally letting go? Why not wait until the timing is ripe and expose her crimes all at once?"

  Ming Xuan shook her head, "Keeping Huang Pozi is not entirely without its benefits, but I don't like having other people's spies and informants on my own turf. So, in the next few days, it won't just be Huang Pozi, all of the Yang family, as well as anyone else who has planted eyes and ears in this courtyard, I will root out one by one."

  She lifted her head and smiled at Pei Jingchen, "As I said, we can't leave here for the time being, whether it's three to five years or even just a year or two. I want our courtyard to be as secure as copper walls and iron walls, without any leaks. Is that okay?"

  Pei Jingchen approached her side, his right hand had already wrapped around her and pulled her into his arms. "If you think it's good, then I think it's good too."

  He buried his head in her shoulder, sniffing the fragrance between her hair, and said, "In the past, before I got married, I used illness as an excuse, and more than half of the year was spent at Qingliang Temple, which was convenient for me to do things. But now that I have you, I don't want to pretend to be ill anymore, but staying at home every day is not convenient for contacting the outside world, so I think it's better if I go ask Grandfather for a job, what do you say?"

  Ming Xuan smiled, "If you think it's good, then I think so too."

  Warm sunshine, a cozy room.

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